Bank of America Wins Javelin’s Best in Class Mobile Banking Award

Several top banks were recognized for their mobile offerings in Javelin’s annual Mobile Banking Financial Institutions study.

Bank of America and BBVA Compass took the top awards in Javelin Strategy and Research’s annual Mobile Banking Financial Institution study, according to a href="https://www.javelinstrategy.com/news/1454/92/Announcing-Javelin-s-2013-Mobile-Banking-Financial-Institution-Award-Winners/d,pressRoomDetail" target="_blank">a Javelin statement released yesterday. Bank of America earned the Best in Class Mobile Banking Provider award, while BBVA Compass won the Best in Mobile Functionality Award.

All of the top 25 retail banks in the U.S. surveyed in the study now offer mobile banking, up from 63% in 2010, the study found. But BBVA Compass was one of the few institutions in the study (only 4%) that offer the ability for customers to actually sign up for mobile banking using only the mobile channel.

Other winners included Wells Fargo for the Best in Text Banking Award, and a tie between Bank of America and Chase for the Most Complete Alerting Platform Award. The top 5 ranked in the Mobile Functionality Award were BBVA Compass, USAA, Citibank, Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank.

Jonathan Camhi has been an associate editor with Bank Systems & Technology since 2012. He previously worked as a freelance journalist in New York City covering politics, health and immigration, and has a master's degree from the City University of New York's Graduate School ... View Full Bio

It could be a resource issue, as bigger banks have bigger staffs and can spend more time and resources on customizing their mobile app. But there is certainly good work also being done at small and medium banks also.

I believe I understand why BBVA Compass would win brownie points for allowing people to sign up on mobile. Many of us do everything on a phone, including open accounts while waiting in line at the store, but it can be endlessly frustrating to enter data into the tiny fields on a mobile web browser, resulting in lost or delayed customer acquisition. If they can simplify and speed up that process in an app, all the better for business.

I wonder if all these big banks really are doing mobile so much better than anyone else? I'm not saying it's not possible, but there certainly are no surprises here. Is it simply a resource issue? Or is there excellence in mobile that is not being recognized because it is somehow under the radar?